Herbert d



(No Model.)

H. D. SMART. FREIGHT GAR DOOR.

No. 580,012. Patented Apr. 6, 1897.

UNITED STATES HERBERT D. SMART, OF N ASHUA, NEYV HAMPSHIRE, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES E. CUMMINGS, OF SAME PLACE.

FREIGHT-CAR DOOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 580,012, dated April 6, 1897.

Application filed May 18, 1896. Serial No. 592,014. (No model.)

T all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERBERT D. SMART, of Nashua, in the county of Hillsborough, State of New Hampshire, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Freight Oar Doors, of which the following is a description sufficiently full, clear, and exact to e11- able-any person'skilled in the art or science to which said invention appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a freight-car provided with my improved door represented as closed; Fig. 2, a horizontal section on line 00 m in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a like View on line y 1 Fig. a, a sectional view, enlarged, showing the track and hanger; Fig. 5, an elevation showing the lock; Fig 6, a horizontal section on line 6 6 in Fig. 5, showing the lock in plan view; and Fig. 7, an edge elevation showing the catch and taken on line 7 7 in Fig. 1.

Like letters and numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures of the drawings.

My invention relates especially to what are ordinarily known as flush-closing freightcar doors, the object being to provide simple, cheap, and effective mechanism whereby the door may slide freely on the side of the car and be tightly closed into the casing'in such manner that moisture, smoke, and sparks cannot enter.

In the drawings, A represents the body of the car, and B the door. The car is provided with the ordinary rabbeted do0rcasing, over which is arranged a flanged track 10, from which the door is suspended by grooved wheels m. The door is so formed that it will 40 fit into the casing-rabbets and be flush with the side of the car when closed.

In the edge of the casing there are one or more projections j, (see Fig. 2,) which seat in sockets 2' in the edge of the door when closed and prevent lateral movement thereof. A

lock for the rear edge of the door comprises a curved counterbalanced bolt 2, pivoted in the door and having an enlarged or flanged head 81, which will take in a suitable socket in the casing. This head also serves as a stop for the bolt when housed in the door.

Outside the door the bolt has a handle 15, whereby it may be thrown, and on this handle there is an eye 32, which may be connected with an eye 10 on the door by the ordinary car-door seal. Such seals usually consist of a strand of wire of sufficient length to pass through the two eyes when the bolt is shot and has its ends secured together by a seal of lead. The eyes may be located any suitable distance apart and need not engage. An eye or projection 17 maybe employed, to which the handle may be fastened when the bolt is withdrawn. The sealing-wire connecting the eye 16 with the handle will support said handle and prevent it being thrown down to unlock the bolt. By means of this bolt and the dowel or projection j at the front of the door it is rendered impossible to spring it out from the casing without breaking the seal.

The door is provided with a series of handles b for moving it laterally and sliding it open. Below the casing there are guides fg, suitably formed for supporting and guiding said door into the casing and along the side of the car. The forward guide f flares outwardly and the inner face of guide g is constructed to direct the edge of the door away from the casing, as shown in Fig. 2. At the rear of said casing there is another guide 71. on the car side for holding the door when open. Pivoted to the rear. edge of the casing there is a drop -latch 25, which when the door is opened will project into its path and prevent it from accidentally closing by the jar of the car.

On the top of the door angular hangers t are bolted. The free ends of the hangers form the axles of the wheels m, and the door 0 is suspended thereby. The axle-openings in the wheels are enlarged to enable the axles to move vertically and freely therein. These openings flare outwardly at 20, and the end of the hangers is offset or curved at 19 to prevent the door scraping the side of the car when being run backward, as said offset serves to retain the axle in its position in the wheel when the door is outward from the side of the car, and the flare of the opening in said wheel enables said offset 19 to ride freely into said openings, thus forming two journal portions, respectively, for the open and closed positions of the door. This offset also prevents the door from passing from one position to the other of its own motion. A flange 18 on the end of the hanger prevents it from slipping through the axle-opening when the door is moved laterally out from the casing.

Under the hood 7:,which is of the usual construction and location, there is a guide-track for the forward hanger constructed of castings p q. As the door is closed the hanger engaging in this track is forced inward and slips through the wheel, its free end being projected into a chamber r, formed in the carwall for this purpose. This directs the upper forward end of the door into the casing, its lower end being carried in like direction by the bottom guide f, as indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2. By means of the handle I) the rear edge of the door is forced inward into the casing, the surface of the car and door being then flush, and the locks may now be applied.

A pin or projection 26 is disposed on the car side to enter a socket 27 in the rear edge of the door when opened and prevent lateral movement.

Where cars are provided with an inclined front stop, (see dotted lines in Fig. 3,) the track under the hood may be omitted, as said stop in conjunction with the sliding axles will serve the purpose. This is also the case when the ordinary hunter-strip is used at the front edge of the door. The dowelj would then be disposed in said bunter and the rear edge. alone of the door be pushed into the jamb.

My device is exceedingly cheap and simple of construction, the hangers being secured to the door by a single bolt. The stops and locks obviate all danger of breaking seals by jar of the car and the door cannot be opened in any degree without injuring the seal.

Having thus explained my invention,what I claim is- 1. The door in combination with the hanger having the offset 19 forming two journal portions and the wheel j ournaled on said hanger substantially as described.

2. The combination of the door with the hanger having the offset in the journal; and the wheel journaled thereon and having the enlarged, flaring axle-opening substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. The door in combination with the hanger, t, having the head, 18, and offset, 19, forming two journal portions in different planes; and the wheel loosely journaled on said hanger and having the flaring portion, 20, for riding said offset when the door is being housed in the casing.

at. The car provided with the chamber, '0, in combination with the track; the castings, p, q, forming a hanger-guide; the door; the hanger secured thereon and having the offset portion forming two axle-journals; and the wheel having the enlarged opening and mounted on said axle substantially as specified.

5. In combination, the door; the curved hanger secured thereto and provided with the head, 18, and offset, 10, forming two axle-journals; the car; the track disposed over the door-casing; the wheel fitted to run on said track and having the flaring opening receiving said journals; and a guide for engaging said hanger to move it through said opening substantially as and for the purpose specified.

HERBERT D. SMART.

\Vitnesses:

CHARLES W. HOITT, B. E. Oseoon. 

